- Exhibition
- Artworks
Presentation
The historical scope, the exceptional nature of the loan, the artistic value of the works, the very meaning of the project make the exhibition “I Borghese e l ‘Antico [The Borghese Family and Antiquity]” not only uniquely important but also an extraordinary and, probably, unrepeatable event.
In 1807, Camillo Borghese, husband of Pauline Bonaparte, agreed to sell to his brother-in-law Napoleon 695 pieces of the famous collection of antiquities begun by Scipione Borghese. This sensational event was deplored by his contemporaries, first of all Antonio Canova. Since then, the sculptures have formed the core of the Louvre Museum’s section on Antiquity, and for the first time in this exhibition, thanks to the extraordinary collaboration between the two museums, many outstanding masterpieces from what was once one of the most famous Roman archaeological collections are once again hosted in the rooms of the villa.
Then, for the first time in 200 years, 60 illustrious works of antiquity such as the Borghese Vase, with Dionysian scenes, the Sleeping Hermaphroditus, restored by a very young Bernini, the Silenus and Infant Bacchus, the Three Graces and the famous Cupid Riding a Centaur, which have never left the Parisian museum before, return to the Galleria Borghese.
It is not a simple exhibition: the works are displayed to recall their historical location. The arrangement of the sculptures on the ground floor, like travelling through time, follows the description written by Ennio Quirino Visconti in 1796, from within the splendid late-eighteenth-century renovations and decorations desired by Marcantonio Borghese. The first floor instead evokes the seventeenth-century sensitivity toward combining and alternating painting and sculpture, according to the collecting taste of Cardinal Scipione, founder of the villa and the collection.
The exhibition was curated by Anna Coliva, Director, Galleria Borghese; Marie-Lou Fabrega Dubert, Chargée de mission Département des Antiquités grecques, étrusques et romaines, Musée du Louvre; Jean-Luc Martinez, Directeur Département des Antiquités grecques, étrusques et romaines, Musée du Louvre; Marina Minozzi, Art historian and coordinator, Galleria Borghese.
It was coordinated by Mondo Mostre and made possible with the support of Arcus, Enel, BNL, BNP Paribas, Ferrero and Air France.
The catalogue is published by Skira.
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The Borghese Family and Antiquity
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The Borghese Family and Antiquity
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The Borghese Family and Antiquity
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The Borghese Family and Antiquity
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The Borghese Family and Antiquity
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The Borghese Family and Antiquity
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The Borghese Family and Antiquity
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The Borghese Family and Antiquity
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The Borghese Family and Antiquity
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The Borghese Family and Antiquity
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The Borghese Family and Antiquity
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The Borghese Family and Antiquity
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The Borghese Family and Antiquity
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The Borghese Family and Antiquity
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The Borghese Family and Antiquity
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The Borghese Family and Antiquity
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The Borghese Family and Antiquity
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The Borghese Family and Antiquity
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